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Entry #2 - Establishing My Tank


Katie B.
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So, I figured the word "establishing" was better than the word "cycling" after watching one of Cory's videos (embedded at the end of this post). I am learning very quickly of patience as I read & hear about bacteria growth, plant growth, and the chemistry that is taking place inside my tank. I decided that since this is the start and I want to make sure that my tank is helping my plants and when it might be ready for a few fish, that I would record my tanks data consistently for a time.

*** Below is a picture of a spreadsheet I created to help me easily monitor my tank's progress.

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I realized after listening to Irene from Girl Talks Fish & Cory that I needed more plants to help with the nitrogen cycle. I went onto Etsy and ordered a 10-plant variety bundle to add to the plants I already have (which is down to 10 due to melting). I am anxiously awaiting their arrival since I know it will help tremendously with my ammonia issue

I would love to go ahead and place Ruby, my betta, in the larger tank but he still has 2 days left of his Maracyn meds to take and I need the ammonia and nitrite levels to subside. I did go ahead and order 6 x Albino Corydoras and 2 x Mystery Snails from AquaHuna which will arrive next week. I have a quarantine tank I will set up this weekend in preparation.

*** Below is a picture of my tank currently with the 10 plants I have and hardscape placed.

IMG_9343.jpeg.5d4d2202f61909a1a623358f6754b05d.jpeg IMG_9344.jpeg.9292aa7f11c653f3d2e323aa8e3a1dda.jpeg

I just increased my lighting to 50% for 7.5 hours a day instead of 6 hours, split into two periods (since I don't need it lite during nap time with my toddler 😉)

Now, Cory mentioned in his video that when establishing an aquarium GROWTH is GOOD. That could be algae or plant and YAY FOR ME, I am seeing both! The only thing I am unsure about is how often I should be fertilizing my plants in the beginning as I attempt to establish my tank

Something else I just noticed TODAY (3/25/22) were SNAILS!!! Ok, some of you I know are probably cringing but I am feeling two ways about it...

  1. They are LIVING in my tank which means life can happen (YAY 😆)
  2. Ok, they will eventually take over my tank and then I will have a mess to deal with...

*** Below is a picture of two of the three teeny tiny snails I found today.

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So, to sum up what is taking place with my 29-gallon tank currently...

  • Algae & plant growth is happening
  • Snails have emerged
  • Ordered more plants to help with nitrogen cycle
  • Ordered Albino Corydoras & Mystery Snails to be quarantined upon arrival
  • I am keeping track of my tanks chemistry data using a Google spreadsheet
  • I am using a bullet journal to keep track of tank and fish needs/data (see pictures below)

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Questions I have...

  1. How often should I use Easy Green fertilizer to fertilize my tank while it is establishing?
  2. Should I be overly concerned about the snails?
  3. Other than plants, is there anything else I could/should be doing to lower my nitrite and ammonia levels?

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*** Below are pictures of my bullet journal. I use frixion pens because they are colorful and ERASE!

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IMG_9353.jpeg.19f3fa3f473c26b4a576115dd4b8e69e.jpeg

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Edited by Katie B.
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Lovely post!

Snails are GOOD. Don’t overdo Easy Green. Algae likes it too…

(I’ve saved the following on Notes app)

Here’s our method for cycling:

(1) Use a biologically activated substrate like Eco Complete — or, transfer substrate from a cycled tank.

(2) Use Wood or Hardscape from inside a cycled tank. We buy wet wood from our LFS.

(3) Use a primed sponge filter already full of bio.

(4) Use tank water from a cycled tank.

(5) Buy tons of live plants. They bring in bio.

(6) Dump in Dr. Tim’s bio starter fluid.

Then wait a day. Test water. Wait until Nitrates are increasing. Add fish. 

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@Katie B. ~ I love your thorough tracking and notes. I think you will like all the detailed info down the road.

Snails are good, however, I have Nerite snails in one tank, and Mystery snails in my other tank, so I don't want bladder snails to overpopulate and compete with my other snails so as I've been seeing the bladder snails on my glass, I squish them (Shhhh! Don't tell my son! He's a snail fanatic). I figure I might always have some snails, but if I keep their numbers under control, the snails I purchased will be fine.

I'm still trying to figure out how often I should dose EG as well, and am new to planted tanks (but not to fish keeping). One thing you will notice is that with that many plants, you might get dropping nitrates and may need to add fertilizer more often to keep those numbers up. I think the ideal Nitrate levels for a planted tank are 20-30ppm (someone correct me if I'm wrong). I still haven't figured out how to get mine up that high in my 10G (so I'm trying to dose EG every couple days), my 46G seems to sit at 40ppm no matter what I do (so I haven't added any EG yet). Like I said, I'm no expert with plants and I'm trying to learn.

Have you been dosing Ammonia or what is your source of ammonia? If you are dosing, you can stop and see what things look like in 24 hours. When your tank is able to remove the ammonia in 24 hours then you can stop dosing since you have Nitrites and Nitrates happening.

Once Ammonia and Nitrites drop to 0ppm, you can safely add fish and then you will rely on your plants and water changes to keep your nitrates within a safe range. 

Here's a great chart to show how to manage your Nitrates:

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/pages/water-changes

And here is a great article talking about dosing EG and Nitrates:

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/faqs/why-is-easy-green-raising-my-nitrate-level?_pos=1&_sid=ffa1eb244&_ss=r

Good luck and keep sharing your progress! I look forward to following your journal

 

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On 3/25/2022 at 3:48 PM, AndreaW said:

Have you been dosing Ammonia or what is your source of ammonia? If you are dosing, you can stop and see what things look like in 24 hours. When your tank is able to remove the ammonia in 24 hours then you can stop dosing since you have Nitrites and Nitrates happening.

Once Ammonia and Nitrites drop to 0ppm, you can safely add fish and then you will rely on your plants and water changes to keep your nitrates within a safe range. 

I appreciate your response so much, very helpful! I have not been adding ammonia, I am assuming it is coming from decaying/melted plants (question mark???).

I will continue to keep track of the tanks data until I see the consistency you mentioned!

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On 3/25/2022 at 5:11 PM, AndreaW said:

@Katie B. ~ I noticed the different colors on your spreadsheet.... Do you have it set up to show different colors based on your input, or do you manually color the cells?

 

It is based on input. I used conditional formatting and the color coding on the back of Co-Op's multi-test strips to create each section. I like the colors because it draws my eyes to changes more so than just numbers.

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I love your spreadsheet, especially the conditional formatting! 😍 When my dad's tank was new and cycling I put together a shared spreadsheet with a graph so we could watch trends in the parameters over time.Screenshot_20220402-073349.jpg.75150e0a1cd26d7f0ccb869f27c4d8e0.jpg

(It's not exactly fair to plot pH on the same graph, since the units are different, but it was convenient.)

I had some bladder snails show up last fall, and for a while there were little ones scooting around, but now I think they're all gone. Some fish like to snack on them and I suspect mine may have done just that.

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